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Hi @Bianca,

You’re absolutely right that these forums should be a place to advocate for improvements to Xero’s core functionality.

I also want to be upfront: my post did have a commercial aspect. Control-C is a solution that grew out of my own experience as a small business owner, trying to overcome some of the limitations I faced in Xero. What started as a personal workaround became a product because others were facing the same challenges — and I saw an opportunity to help.

I believe this kind of grassroots innovation is part of what makes the Xero ecosystem so powerful. While I fully agree that no business should have to rely on add-ons to get basic functionality, the reality is that some features — like flagging bills as “in dispute” — have been slow to arrive.

For those who need a solution now, tools like ours can make a real difference. Yes, there’s a small cost involved — roughly the price of a coffee a week — but for many, that’s a worthwhile investment to avoid costly errors and streamline their workflow.

My intent in posting here is not to distract from the need for Xero to build these features natively, but to show that there’s real demand and real pain being felt by users. I hope that by sharing what we’ve built, we can help Xero prioritize these improvements — and in the meantime, offer something useful to those who need it.

Thanks again for engaging so openly. I really appreciate the dialogue and the shared goal of making Xero better for everyone.

Warm regards, 
Campbell Green 
Control-C

@Campbell Green - very simply. We NEVER pay for any add ons and nor should we ever need to. There are various other ways to back up, including regular downloads etc. We use those sufficiently for our needs. If there are ever any outages, we just raise manual invoices in the interim and then upload them to Xero later - simple. No accounts program should ever "require" third party add ons. And I actually find the fact that people/companies are advertising their third party add ons on here as "fixes" is counterproductive. These forums should be for getting Xero to fix stuff, not giving them excuses not to fix them.

Hi Bianca,

I appreciate you and Daniel being so direct. I genuinely agree with you: basic features like a dispute flag shouldn't require third-party tools, and your frustration with Xero on this is completely valid.

However, your statement that you **"NEVER pay for add ons"** really stood out to me, as it raises a critical question that I believe applies to many users here:

If you aren't using an add-on, how are you currently handling the mandatory backup of your Xero financial data?

As you know, every organization needs to maintain an independent copy of their critical data. If your only copy of your accounts is sitting within Xero, that puts your business at significant risk. With Xero now having close to 4.5 million customers, and Control-C only backing up a small portion of that figure, it highlights that a massive number of businesses are currently exposed without a proper **Business Continuity Plan**.

For example, when Xero had its recent service outages, if you had a tool like Control-C, you would have had full, immediate access to an up-to-date copy of your accounts outside of Xero's platform, allowing you to continue critical operations without interruption. How did you manage your business during that downtime?

We built Control-C as a 'Business Continuity Platform' because this data protection is the most important foundation for any business. The "disputed bill" fix, and other highly-requested features like "Multiple addresses for a single Contact", are truly just valuable bonuses that come with the necessary protection of your financial records.

I offer this not as a sales pitch, but because ensuring your financial data is safe and accessible is paramount. I encourage you to consider if the cost of not having a continuity plan outweighs the cost of the add-on.

It is a fundamental process within accounts that regularly happens where bills are disputed, incorrect items may have been delivered, the price not as quoted, quality issues, timing issues, and a heap of other reasons.

It is a standard process to add bills onto the system, so as they are where they should be as a liability, but to mark them as disputed, so that they are not paid until issues are resolved.

Whilst your suggestions above all sound reasonable, they are not of any use in this matter whatsoever.

I am not sure of the point of this forum, as despite 1470 votes on this idea alone - it is blatantly not being listened to by Xero and they are not resolving the issue.

It is not a nice to have feature, it is fundamental to the credit control system

I also don't feel (as brilliant as it is) that we should have to pay for a basic feature that other leading software gives in the subscription costs! If a Xero partner can identify this as a number one topic, then why aren't Xero doing the same and prioritising it?

Agree with @Daniel Coates We NEVER pay for add ons, especially when it is something that Xero should pull their finger out and fix urgently as it's a flaw in their system.

@Daniel - I can’t argue with your reasoning, but we do offer way more than just this feature alone. :-) For example all our customers had full access to all their account data during Xero’s recent outage and could even do things like create Invoices Payables and Receivables

I echo the previous comments. The ability to mark bills as 'in dispute' is a feature so basic and fundamental to managing an accounts department, that it should not be the job of a plug-in or paid extra to achieve it. Xero - this is such simple functionality, and should be prioritised.

Exactly @Daniel Coates
I wish Xero would add the option to like a comment

I applaud Cameron Green for trying to plug a hole but I am with Daniel Coates on this. There should be no need to have to pay for what should be an integral feature.

As an aside for Cameron Green regarding the idea of suppressing disputed bills from Aged payables, etc. Just because they are disputed does not mean that they are not ultimately payable in whole or in part and they should not be lost sight of. I understand why one would require such reports but I would hope that any such tailored reports would clearly flag and quantify the filtering in operation.

@campbell Green. I think people want Xero to fix their own issue that shouldn’t exist not use plugins and paid plugins at that, when Xero should have this natively like every other accounts does.system.

Hi everyone,

We’ve noticed this ranks as a No.1 issue - the need for better handling of bills that are under dispute—especially to prevent accidental payments and improve clarity in reporting.

As a Xero partner, we’re currently working on a solution that would allow users to tag bills as “Disputed” and have those tags reflected in payables reporting. This would make it easier to exclude disputed bills from aged payables and standard reports, helping teams manage queries more effectively.

We’re in the process of developing this feature and are keen to hear from anyone interested in early access or sharing feedback on how this could best support your workflow.

Thanks!
—Campbell from Control-C
PS You can find us in the Xero App Store

Another basic, fundamental bookkeeping process that should have been prioritised long ago.

Whilst greatly appreciate your comments, none of the above are really a workable solution compared to just flagging an invoice in query.

All other accounting software I have used for commercial businesses have included this feature as a mainstay for purchase ledger processes

I second this comment as a must have on the system

think this issue could be solved in the same way as the issue around payment type for bills. A new field where you can determine the payment type eg Direct Debit, AP, or Under Dispute. Would need to be able to filter on the field to make it work properly but could solve two issues in one.

I think this issue could be solved in the same way as the issue arround payment type for bills. A new field where you can determine the payment type eg Direct Debit, AP, or Under Dispute. Would need to be able to filter on the field to make it work properly but could solve two issues in one.

I'd like to provide feedback on the recent update and the proposed solutions regarding disputed bills, specifically in response to Kelly's suggestions. I believe the current options provided by Kelly act more as workarounds rather than providing a true fix for this issue.

From my perspective, a more effective solution would be to introduce a new section in the bills screen, perhaps named "Disputes." This section could function similarly to how drafts currently work, but with clear distinctions. In my previous company, we utili​sed a "hold file" where we could raise ​the invoice and add purchase orders ​at a later date when the dispute was resolved by searching, which is already a function within Xero.

If Xero were to implement a "Disputed Items" header in this section, it would not impact the accounts, as we would still be accruing the purchase order value, especially since it hasn't been billed yet. While this might not be a direct requirement for everyone, it would provide a dedicated place to store PDF invoices and any related emails.

Please feel free to correct my ideas above.

@xero what do you mean

"Utilise tracking categories: Creating a specific tracking category like "Disputed Bills" can help you filter and report on these items."

I have raised an official complaint with Xero. This is becoming a joke. I will keep you all updated with the progress...... fingers crossed!!

100% needed function in Xero. Putting payable items on hold/in dispute is much needed. Using the awaiting approval doesn't work as we import our payable invoices via Revolut so they go straight to awaiting payment.